Some may argue that now is not the time to think about reducing the headline rate of corporation tax and that we should focus first on the Current Economic and Fiscal Crisis, but I do not believe that we can afford to ignore the UK's competitive position at this time.

The Current Economic and Fiscal Crisis provides a unique opportunity for those of us who have been banging the drum for decentralisation and localism over the past two to three years.

EU-level action is necessary given the level of poverty and social exclusion in the Union and the unacceptable diversity of the situation among individual Member States, further aggravated by the Economic and Fiscal Crisis, which has led to a deterioration of social cohesion and lessened the chances of achieving the Europe 2020 Strategy's objective in relation to the fight against poverty and social exclusion.